Soccer

6 charged in Australian match-fixing probe

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP)

Six men connected to one Victoria state football club have been
charged in relation to Australia's largest match-fixing scandal,
including the coach and a goalkeeper.

Football Federation Australia issued a statement Sunday saying
10 people from the Southern Stars, sitting last in the Victorian
Premier League, had been arrested after a police investigation into
an international gambling syndicate after a tip off from
Swiss-based sports and betting data intelligence agency
Sportradar.

A 45-year-old Malaysian national was remanded in custody on 10
charges, including five counts of engaging in conduct that corrupts
or could corrupt the outcome of a betting event.

Police accused the man of acting as the contact point between
the international syndicate and the South Stars players. He is due
to appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday.

A 23-year-old English goalkeeper faces eight charges, including
four of facilitating conduct that could corrupt the outcome of a
betting event. He was given bail and expected to reappear in court
on Friday.

Three other players and a 36-year-old coach were charged with
similar offenses.

Four other men arrested on Sunday morning were released pending
further inquiries. Under recent changes to Australian laws, match
fixing can attract a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.

Police on Sunday said the investigation had been under way since
August and focused on four matches.

Southern Stars President Ercan Cicek told Australian Associated
Press that he had no suspicion of alleged match-fixing.

Cicek said five players from England joined the southeast
Melbourne-based team at the start of the season at the suggestion
of a man who also offered to organize sponsorship.

Cicek said the man, whose full name he was not able to provide
to AAP, contacted him twice in six months with offers of players
and sponsorship.

The Stars, who Cicek described as a small community club, didn't
have to pay the players.

''Our committee members are thinking, `Oh beautiful, five
players for free, we're not going to pay anything, it's a big, big
bonus'. It looks like a delight for us,'' he said.

Cicek said the Stars' coach also provided his services for free
this season, telling the club he just wanted a chance at the
Premier League level in Victoria.

The Southern Stars have played 21 matches this season, losing 16
and drawing four. Their only win was a 1-0 victory over top-placed
club Northcote City.

Victorian police deputy commissioner Graham Ashton said
Australia was a prime location for match-fixing on Asian betting
markets due to its favorable time zone.

In February, the crime commission released the findings of the
year-long ''Project Aperio,'' saying there was evidence of
match-fixing in Australian sport, as well as widespread use of
prohibited substances and the infiltration of organized criminal
groups in the distribution of performance-enhancing drugs.

FFA chief David Gallop said the sport's national governing body
provided police with information relating to suspicious betting
activity.

''The arrests today show that the integrity measures put in
place by FFA are working to detect illegal betting activity. We're
determined to keep football clean,'' he said.

In addition to the criminal proceedings in Victoria state, FFA
said anyone charged in the match fixing investigation faces a range
of football sanctions including life bans which would apply
worldwide.

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